At the second sitting for an electoral reform dialogue with the Election Commission (EC) yesterday, Jamaat-e-Islami embarked on a tirade against the commission accusing it of virtually stepping beyond its jurisdiction, which the EC rebutted categorically.

Barapukuria coal mine development project, implemented under a Chinese Supplier's Credit scheme, remains one of the significant cases of corruption by some policymakers, officials and a business house during the tenure of two governments headed by Khaleda Zia.

"The all-powerful mother and son" are to be blamed for his present state and "inhuman life in prison", claimed Lutfozzaman Babar, detained former state minister for home affairs, during CID interrogation on Monday.

Expressing concern over a number of provisions of the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, 2007, human rights bodies yesterday said the ordinance would not ensure independence, transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the Human Rights Commission.

LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal will sit with the Election Commission (EC) in a week to finalise the criteria of ineligibility of candidates for local government elections with the EC preparing to hold city corporation polls in April.

The LGRD ministry has asked the finance ministry to take back Tk 430 crore allocated for some development projects of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) as it cannot implement those within this fiscal year.

British and European parliamentarians have said Bangladesh caretaker government should live up to its political obligation by lifting emergency rule to allow political activities and political reforms.

A Dhaka court yesterday directed the investigation officer (IO) to submit probe report by March 30 on a case filed against Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and eight other people for mass-murdering 345 people during the liberation war.

The government yesterday formed the Seventh Wage Board with retired Judge of the High Court Division Habibur Rahman Khan as its chairman to recommend increased wages for journalists, employees and press workers after reviewing the Sixth Wage Board Award.

AH Mofazzal Karim, adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, sent a rejoinder yesterday to a report headlined "BNP unity: Hannan starts talks with pro-Saifur group" and published in The Daily Star on Tuesday.

Editorial

THE chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission has clearly expressed the readiness of the ACC to inquire into corruption in the military. The reiteration of such an intent by General Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury points to the purposefulness of the campaign against overall wrongdoing the ACC is engaged in. It is certainly a commendable move, one that citizens in general and the armed forces in particular should welcome in the larger national interest. One reason why such a step is to be appreciated is the fact that it promises to add substance to the on-going drive against corruption in government, indeed in all areas that relate to the public weal.

WE observe with a degree of dismay that despite the oft-repeated commitments by top functionaries of the government and chief of the Election Commission to holding national election by December this year, some political parties keep casting doubt in the EC's staging polls on schedule. This could give rise to a speculative atmosphere in which cynicism about timely election may grow among the people, something we surely can do without at this stage of electoral preparations.

NOT many among us may have been in touch with Manna. And there may not be very many people we know who have watched his movies. Those of us now in our early or mid fifties stopped going to movie houses a long time ago, perhaps way back in the early 1980s.

NEPAL is going through a rapid and unprecedented transformation of politics and social life. For the first time, the Himalayan nation may turn into a republic from a monarchy, which it has been since 1768.

IN one of his many speeches on the sources of Islamic terrorism, George W. Bush argued, "when a dictatorship controls the political life of a country, responsible opposition cannot develop and dissent is driven underground and toward the extreme."

Look all you want but finding a more well-rounded, genial and laidback fast bowler than Dale Steyn will be a tough task. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star Sport's Quazi Zulquarnain Islam and Mohammad Isam, the steely Steyn speaks of his philosophy on life, interest in photography, adulation for Shaun Pollock and Jose Mourinho's professionalism. Dale Steyn is truly the speedster for the next generation. Following is an excerpt from the lively encounter with the South African at the poolside of the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel:

Nayeem Islam smacked 46 off 43 balls as Bangladesh Combined Divisions team made a clean sweep of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) side in the Indo-Bangladesh Bangla Games at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium yesterday.

International Cricket Council chief Malcolm Speed has suggested a "window" could be created in the game's crowded schedule for the Indian Premier League (IPL) by as early as next year, according to a report Tuesday.

Matthew Hayden has stirred already troubled waters by calling Harbhajan Singh an "obnoxious weed", a comment that will only serve to further deepen the animosity between the two sides which has surfaced during India's current tour.

Business

The government will ask all multinational companies in Bangladesh where it is a part owner to list on the country's stock exchanges in an effort to increase the number of quality shares available to local investors.

Domestic beverage producers have joined the global rush to produce so called 'Energy' drinks with brands such as Royal Tiger, Speed and Big Boss capturing an increasing slice of the country's soft drink market.

Government is considering inclusion of women in the Board of Directors of nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) to ease the loan process for women entrepreneurs, Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam has said.

The improved performance of Chittagong port saved exports last year, but only a clear political future will encourage increased foreign investment, stresses Kihak Sung, one of the country's largest foreign investors.

Politically correct may not always be economically correct. Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram would seek a balance between political and economic correctness when he presents his annual budget on Friday, possibly the last before fresh parliamentary polls scheduled next year.

AKTEL, one of the country's leading mobile operators, posted an after tax loss of Tk 73.7 crore in 2007, despite a 25 percent growth in customer numbers, according to the company's main owner Telekom Malaysia.

World economic growth could miss the International Monetary Fund's forecast of 4.1 percent this year if US and European banks disclose more major losses on the subprime market, the head of the IMF said Monday.

Standard Chartered, the emerging markets bank, said on Tuesday that net profit rose by 25 percent to 2.81 billion dollars (1.90 billion euros) in 2007 and that it had largely escaped the US subprime mortgage crisis.

In a photo caption with the news item headlined 'Finance adviser disagrees on rise in unemployment' published on this page yesterday, it was mistakenly mentioned that the seminar was organised to mark the release of the Labour Force Survey Report 2005-06 prepared by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. We regret mistake.

Metropolitan

Speaker of Japanese parliament Diet Kono Yohei praised the foreign policy of Bangladesh, particularly its positive position on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) with regard to nuclear issues.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has adopted new guidelines and principles for nominating examiners, questioners and moderators to ensure neutrality and transparency in the civil service examinations.

The Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh (APUB) has urged the caretaker government to withdraw income tax imposed on private universities for the greater interest of higher education in the country.

Leaders of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) and Workers' Party of Bangladesh yesterday urged the government to announce specific date for the general elections and start dialogue with the political parties immediately.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday said it is very urgent to get rid of the alarming situation as cyber crime, drug addiction, terrorism and other serious crimes cast negative impact on a large section of juvenile and youths and often ruin their life.

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Electricity and Port yesterday called on the government not to allow open pit coal mining in Phulbari, saying that it would lead to environmental disasters in the area.

A group of guardians yesterday called on the caretaker government to cancel the Structured Question (SQ) method for SSC examinations to be introduced in 2010, saying that most teachers and students are still in the dark about this new pattern of question.

Amitav Ghosh, the most widely known Indian novelist writing in English, has been made the first Scholar-in-Residence at IUB in recognition of his eminence in modern English Literature, particularly South Asian English Literature, says a press release.

National

Judge Abdus Salam Shikder yesterday ordered eight local leaders of Awami League to appear before the Speedy Trial Tribunal in Khulna on March 2 as they have been named as witnesses of the plan for murder of AL leader advocate Manjurul Imam.

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is preparing to file two cases against former BNP lawmaker Habibul Islam Habib and Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam for hiding assets in their wealth statements.

Rapid Action battalion (Rab) recovered two bombs, two shutter guns from Dudhli village in Kaliganj upazila in the district yesterday. The bombs and the firearms were found in an abandoned condition, Rab said.

Letters

21st February is a proud day for any Bangladeshi. It was on this day in 1952 that the valiant students defied the ban on processions to protest against the decision to make Urdu the state language. Bengalis were representing 56% of the population of Pakistan.

Thank you to Md Nurul Huda for his glowing commendation of the British 'Bobby', although I am not sure that all British people, especially those in the cities, would recognize in the British policeman of today some of the traits he commends. But I am from that British generation that still sees the policeman as a friend and protector so much so, that, when I see one, even today, my hand goes up in an automatic wave. I have had some startled looks from policemen here!

What is the future of Iraq? What is the future of the Iraqi young people who are growing up in an environment that offers only violence and bloodshed everywhere? Each and every single day witnesses violence more sinister and deadlier than the previous day. Iraq has become the killing field for those who want to vanquish their enemies.

As per reports in both print and electronic media, it is clear that the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina needs immediate medical treatment, particularly for her ear problem. But the government has reservations about sending her abroad for better treatment because of the absence of such a provision in our jail code.

The recent irresponsible acts of a group of Danish journalists are highly unethical, to say the least. When the world community raises their voice against war and injustice and try hard to make peace and love, these people are trying to spread poison.

The front page report (Feb: 16) in an English daily on the tariff competition being faced by BTTB states that their land line call charges are likely to be cut further! BTTB had the monopoly for long, with a carefree and complacent attitude. Now they are waking up to the reality of competitive and rapidly growing private mobile phone companies. Their age long passivity can no longer carry on. Possibly the fact of life has come alive for BTTB. Even their mobile venture, for lack of expansion and the red tape involved in getting it, has not helped them! Action and aggressive marketing cannot be the "cup of tea" for the static monopoly, that is BTTB. BTTB's well established multi-layered bureaucracy can not just be wished away overnight. They will overshadow and stall matters; meanwhile the private sector multidirectional competition is racing along, changing day by day as the market and situation demands. This may well usher in the downfall of landline telephony of BTTB; while their revenues from this sector will go on declining! The same situation may be faced by the postal wing of BTTB, as more and more courier services are proliferating .

Although many may argue about the necessity of torture in extreme situation when life of innocent victims are on the line (i.e. in case one needs to find out the location or plan of any imminent mass-destructive effort like bomb or terror plots), just being a suspect does not warrant wholesale torture. Only the criminal should fear Rab, others should see them as a resource, a symbol of benevolent power. Power calls for responsibility. I urge the government of Bangladesh to take two basic steps as a supplement to existing training programme for the Rab members, both for ranks and files. It's absolutely necessary that they go through a continuous briefing on ethics and compassion. Rab members should understand that they are not the power as individuals; rather, they are the medium through which power is projected.

Some Asian women leaders make themselves refreshingly different and attractive with their clothes, hair styles, shoes, ornaments and also manners. Their fashions not only work as a very powerful force in society but reflect change, development, prosperity and advancement of women. For example, Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was regarded as one of the fashion icons for her sartorial features-- black coat on shalwar-kamiz and black shoes. She gained huge popularity among young women in the subcontinent.

Bravo! Mr. Badrul Ahsan for your well thought out editorial piece (6 Feb wed) on Bangla. It's about time somebody had a go at it. I totally concur with all your points. In fact you might also like to read my piece on the same subject in The Daily Star monthly Forum (June 2007). It's a national, cultural and intellectual disgrace that we are a nation quick to shed tears and blood, quick to lament on the language issue (like no other nation), and equally quick to forget all that and embrace some foreign colloquialisms, and quick to demolish what little Bangla there is. To watch some reporters (or indeed some high profile personalities) on TV wrestling with the pronunciation of some words, is to wonder why on earth did we have Ekushey at all.

Sugary drinks have been blamed for a surge in cases of the painful joint disease gout. Men who consume two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85 per cent higher risk of gout compared with those who drink less than one a month, a study suggests. Cases in the U.S. have doubled in recent decades and it seems fructose, a type of sugar, is to blame, the British Medical Journal study reports. UK experts said those with gout would be advised to cut out sugary drinks. The symptoms of painful, swollen joints, mainly in the lower limbs, are caused when uric acid crystallises out of the blood into the joints.

Sometimes I need to drop my daughter at Brac University at Mohakhali and every time I gain bitter experience while parking the vehicle, and at times parking has to be made far away from the university building. Not only this, my driver's experience is more shocking as he faces a terrible situation in the morning while several students of the university arrive at a given time. Moreover, fear of possible police harassment is also there for wrong parking. The front parking place always remains congested due to heavy traffic and pedestrian movement as well as haphazard parking on the other side of the road.

Of late The Daily Telegraph in Britain suggested not to count Al Gore completely out of the presidential picture of the United States. Obviously, more recently the momentum has shifted to Barack Obama after a string of primary and caucus victories. However, the Clinton camp purportedly believes that if Obama doesn't deliver a knock-out blow before the March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio, Hillary could win those races and regain the momentum, with many super delegates uniting behind her to preserve party unity.

All these years after independence the people have been leading a life against their expectation of living in a country free from all sorts of corruption, where the rule of law is established, no one is deprived of fundamental rights and security of life is fully ensured.

Hardcore militants who seized Pakistan's most scenic valley are still holed up in its snowy heights, three months after President Pervez Musharraf sent in the army to show his resolve against spreading Islamic extremism.

The United States Monday pressed for a prompt UN Security Council vote on a new set of sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, which Tehran warned would harm the credibility of the UN nuclear watchdog.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won a verbal assurance Tuesday from China to use its influence to jump-start the stalled process of dismantling North Korea's nuclear programmes. Yet it was unclear when or how the Chinese would follow through. In broad discussions with Chinese officials, Rice also won an agreement from China to resume an on-again, off-again human rights dialogue with the United States and she pleased her Chinese hosts by restating firm US opposition to a Taiwanese referendum on United Nations entry that has infuriated Beijing.

A photograph circulating on the Internet of Democratic Sen Barack Obama dressed in traditional local garments during a visit to Kenya in 2006 is causing a dustup in the presidential campaign over what constitutes a smear.

Arts & Entertainment

The 3rd Citycell-Channel i Music Awards was held at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre on February 25. Renowned and upcoming artistes as well as other distinguished guests were presented at the programme to enjoy the most elaborate award giving ceremony in music.

The Bangla Academy authority has officially recognised the 'Little Magazine Corner', popularly known as the 'Bahera Tola', at the 'Amar Ekushey Granthamela'. Any little magazine publisher with at least three publications can have a stall (if it would be called so) at this corner under the aged Bahera tree. With the sponsorship of BRAC Bank, Bangla Academy has also offered screen-printed banners to the stall owners.

“I dance in surrender to Him, To His Glory, to His Love, to His World With a lilting melody and a strong rhythm…A dance of separation and union…of hope…A pattern of light and shade…The fire of the eternal dance of moths.”

As a tribute to the Language Movement of 1952, a music album of patriotic songs by popular artiste Abdul Mannan Rana was released on February 21. Titled Desher Jonnye, the album produced by Laser Vision includes 13 patriotic songs.

Marking the first death anniversary of noted Tagore exponent and cultural activist Wahidul Haque, a discussion was held at the Muslim Institute in Mymensingh recently. Jatiya Rabindra Sangeet Sammilan Parishad's (JRSSP) local unit organised the daylong programme.

Winner for outstanding documentary feature, Taxi to the Dark Side, a painfully clear-eyed look at the United States policy on torture in Afghanistan and Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, provided Oscar night's most overtly political commentary -- Jon Stewart's monologue notwithstanding.

OP-ED

IT was in summer 2005 that I first flew Emirates. The airline had already been decorated a couple of times as the world's best. And it, indeed, provided great quality service. The wait at Dubai airport was pleasant and the flight to London was smooth, with an array of polite and helpful crew members.

ALMOST nine years after Nato's bombing campaign ended the Serbian ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's Albanian majority, Kosovo has finally declared its independence. It was immediately recognised by the United States, Britain and a number of other countries. But Russia, following Serbia's lead, has ostentatiously advertised its anger at the move.

HOW inevitable is the ascendancy of Asia, and how should the West respond? That is the question that Kishore Mahbubani wrestles with in The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East. In the book, he makes an impassioned plea for big changes in what he sees as the West's arrogant and ignorant approach to Asia.

THE negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programs are stuck in the familiar territory of a standoff between the United States and North Korea over the existence of a uranium-enrichment program. North Korea had promised to end all its nuclear activities in return for shipments of aid and diplomatic concessions. Though it has closed its reactor at Yongbyong, US officials say it has failed to comply with the second phase of the process -- providing a complete accounting of all of its nuclear programs by December 31, 2007.

Star City

Inclusion of photo ID cards in the process of voter listing was one of the main reasons people were enthusiastic about the project but now many are not happy with their photographs taken for the ID cards.

Investigation of the cases filed with the 33 police stations under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is being hampered due to lack of adequate manpower as the officers available now for the job are unable to accomplish the uphill task effectively.

A division bench of the High Court (HC) Monday asked the government to explain within ten days as to why construction of the Gulshan-Banani link bridge across the Gulshan Lake should not be declared illegal.